A boating tragedy in Egbu village, located in the Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State, resulted in the deaths of at least 103 wedding guests, including a father and his four children. The accident caused the families of the victims to enter a period of grief.
The victims had just finished attending a ceremony in Egboti village, located in Niger State, when the boat that was transporting them to their final destinations capsized on Monday in the Patigi Local Government Area.
In response to the new information, the spokesperson for the Kwara State Police Command, SP Ajayi Okesanmi, stated that the tragedy had taken 103 lives. He also stated that the names of the victims who were rescued would be made public in the near future.
“The latest on the boat tragedy in Patigi, which resulted in 103 fatalities and the survival of others. “As soon as we have the information, the names of those that survived will be made public,” Okesanmi said.
On the other hand, the traditional ruler of Patigi, Ibrahim Bologi II, stated in an exclusive interview with one of our correspondents that the number of victims who had died was 110.
In addition to this, he mentioned that there were around 217 passengers on board the vessel, and he added that a search and rescue operation was currently under way in order to locate the other fatalities.
The traditional ruler stated that the most recent information indicates that a total of 110 persons have lost their lives as a result of the disaster. It was a boat that held around 217 persons at the time. People from the surrounding area are helping with the search as of right now, and it will continue till tomorrow.
Mohammed Liman, Chairman of the Transition Implementation Committee in Patigi LGA, said 110 people perished in the catastrophe that plunged inhabitants of the local government area into unimaginable pain. This information lends credence to the assertion made by the monarch regarding the number of lives that were lost as a result of the tragedy.
“About 110 individuals died in the boat disaster in our neighbourhood,” Liman stated, while relaying a statement on the unfortunate turn of events made by a community leader named Alhassan Mohammed. We are going to tell you about the tragedy and the everlasting memory that occurred to my people from our village, Ebu, as well as those from other villages that are close to us.
“The people from our village travelled to a different hamlet known as Gboti to attend a wedding ceremony there. The boat carried approximately 270 people, and over 110 of them did not return.
“The record for each village comprises the following: 61 for Egbu, 38 for Dzakan, four for Kpada, two for Kuchalu, and three for Sampi. This tragic event will live on in the annals of our community’s history as an indelible remembrance.
In addition, residents of the community who spoke with one of our correspondents said that the victims included 69 people from the village of Egbu, 36 people from the village of Gakpan, and four people from the village of Kpada in the Patigi Local Government Area (LGA).
According to the most recent information available at the time this article was written, emergency personnel who were leading the search and rescue operation had located at least fifty dead bodies.
However, in an exclusive conversation with one of our journalists, the Area Manager of the National Inland Waterways Authority in charge of Niger-Kwara districts, Akapo Adeboye, spoke on the cause of the catastrophe. He ascribed the boat accident to overloading as well as unstable winds.
He also said the agency had been educating boat operators to desist from overloading boats with passengers.
Adeboye stated that “this is a really tragic circumstance that is avoidable because what led to it was due to the operators of the boat overloading it with too many passengers.” They are trying to increase their income, therefore they load their boats to capacity.
“We have attempted to educate them by sending messages in English, Hausa, and other languages that are used in this area, but they refuse to listen. We have also established a safety unit, and if we find a defaulter, we make them pay fines that can reach up to N100,000 in some cases.
“Despite all of our efforts to make sure that they comply with safety standards, such as the requirement that they must have life jackets, lifebuoys, and other safety equipment on board, many of them (operators) just choose to adopt the easier way out by travelling at night just because they want to avoid being arrested by our monitoring and safety patrol.”
In the meantime, the Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, sent his condolences to the people of Patigi in a statement that was released by Rafiu Ajakaye, who serves as the Chief Press Secretary for the Governor.
“The governor is distressed to learn of the boating tragedy that involved multiple individuals, notably inhabitants of Ebu, Dzakan, Kpada, Kuchalu, and Sampi, all of which are located in Patigi.
“On behalf of the state’s governor, I want to extend my deepest sympathies to the residents of these communities as well as those who live in neighbouring states. The statement claimed that he prays to the All-Mighty Allah for the repose of the souls of the victims.
In a separate reaction, the Governor of Niger State, Mohammed Bago, expressed his condolences to the families of those who had lost loved ones and reminded those who were travelling by boat to always wear their life jackets.
Through his Chief Press Secretary, Ibrahim Bologi, he communicated the following statement: “We are looking at the accident as an act of God and we pray to God to grant them eternal peace and give the family the courage to suffer the loss.”
We are urging the people who live in riverine communities to always wear their life jackets because we have given them some. They should wear them each and every time they go on a trip.
In response to the tragedy, Segun Akande, Vice Chairman of the Red Cross Society in Lagos State, stated that it was inherently and professionally unsafe to travel on any maritime transportation without any safety measures being in place.
He stated, “Even when you have a life jacket on, there may still be a small problem because when it happens, there can still be a worry that people would just capsize, and the only way you can be balanced on that water is when you know how to swim and safeguard yourself.
A lifeguard or divers are required to be present on a ferry at all times. That is an improvement above simply providing each individual with a life jacket. Even if everyone is wearing life jackets, you should still have professional divers on hand who are able to enter the sea and save lives.
“This is essential to understand because capsize is one of the risks associated with cruising on water. There is no method of travel that is devoid of potential hazards. If you are going to be travelling on water, you are required to have access to a life jacket, and you are also required to have lifeguards.
